A swift kick to the head

Last night Ryan and I were relaxing in our basement.  We were watching UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) on TV.   We saw a few of the fighters in Denver earlier this year.  Ryan had his head on my belly and Kaden would occasionally move.  Of course Ryan would tease me from time to time and say it wasn't the baby - it was gas.  I think that hurt Kaden's feelings because the next thing I knew Kaden kicked so hard that it made Ryan's head move!  We may have our own little martial artist in the making.

Almost 7 months

Saturday will mark my 7th month of pregnancy and some days it still doesn't feel real or the fact that it's been 7 months.  I still have those days where I look down at my stomach and think "Oh yeah,  I'm pregnant."

I had another doctor's appointment today.  Baby is growing just fine.  I've gained 7 pounds over the last month (running total of 14 pounds).  Not too shabby, if I must say.  I'm glad I haven't gained some abnormal amount like 40 - 80 pounds since I'm planning to lose whatever I gain. 

My next appointment is in 3 weeks and then I'll go every 2 weeks until the end of August when I start going every week.  I've never really liked going to the doctor anyway, so this may get old very quickly.  At least I'm going to end up with a beautiful baby at the end.

I have quite a few projects that I am working on for Kaden.  Baby book, a blanket, cross stitch and his name to hang on the wall.  The only thing I haven't started yet is the baby book, but that can be something that I fill out a little bit at a time.  I want to make sure that Kaden has a complete baby book that he can treasure when he's older.

New Office, Baby Bump, Mom Update

Saturday we finally got our carpet installed in the basement bedroom!  Here's Ryan and Fez testing it out:

We (Ryan and his dad) were able to move the office downstairs right after our carpet guy left.  Even the pictures got hung up!

The hardest part of the move? Getting the couch (complete with a fold-away-bed) out of the bedroom upstairs and into the bedroom downstairs.  Let's just say that in addition to family help there were some choice words mentioned about the size of the couch and the size of the doorways.

We even went to Lowe's to get paint for the upstairs bedrooms.  Kaden's room will get a coat of "Zen Garden" green (think pastel green) and our bedroom will get a coat of "Bamboo Leaves" which Ryan described as a Grey Poupon type of yellow.  With the office fully relocated (and empty), it's finally starting to sink in that we're preparing for Kaden's arrival.

And at long last, an updated baby bump.  This was taken last night right before Ryan headed to work.  I really don't feel that big, but I only get the view from the top.  Ryan's response to "Am I really that wide/deep?" was "Well yeah, you're pregnant.  It happens."  He's so sweet!  

I think, weather permitting, that we'll try for a nice evening bike ride this week.  I've been eyeing our bikes for a while now.  We both got really nice Trek bikes two years ago and haven't had a chance to ride them yet this year.  They're hanging up in the garage on the ceiling and I'm not quite in the position to try and get them down myself.

I've saved the best news for last - mom is getting out of the hospital today!  We're not sure when she'll be release, but more news certainly to follow.

Milestones!

Mom was released from MICU yesterday to a "regular" hospital room!  Lori helped her move from one room to another.  Check out her blog for the full details.  Mom called me from her new room last night to say goodnight - it was really great to hear her voice.  There's a chance she may even get to come home this weekend.

Tomorrow we have our carpet guy coming over to install the carpet in the basement.  I'm excited to get a step closer to starting the baby's room.  I even get to pick up paint samples for the room soon.

I've made it to the double digits!  I have 99 days left in my pregnancy.  It's so strange to think that we'll be holding Kaden in about 3 months.  I'll try to post another baby bump picture soon.  I can still see my feet but I have to lean forward a bit to do so!

Updates

Mom has made extraordinary improvements over the past few days.  Some of the nurses in the MICU are calling her a miracle!   See my sister's blog for the full update, Life is Golden.  I'll provide the Cliff Notes version below:

Mom was able to eat yesterday.  Her first meal include 2 cups of coffee, graham crackers, vanilla pudding and mushroom soup.  This morning they pulled her feeding tube out!  She's had tubes down her throat for the past two weeks, so I bet having only the trache feels so much better for her.  

The doctors are looking at capping the trache later to see how she can breathe on her own.  She may still have assisted oxygen (via the nose rather than the trache) but they'll have to see how she labors with it.  We're expecting mom to continue making baby steps, but she surprises us every day.  It would be so wonderful if mom could be home for her birthday on June 11th. 

Baby Update:

My "How big is baby" calendar is now going on months instead of weeks, so I haven't had anything to share for a while.  Kaden has been kicking on and off for the past few weeks.  I can already tell that he's got some characteristics from his parents - he'll stop kicking when someone puts their hand on my belly!

Month 6: Let your spouse put an ear to your belly -- he might be able to pick up baby's heartbeat (no stethoscope required). Inside the womb, the formation of tiny capillaries is giving baby a healthy pink glow. Baby's also soaking up your antibodies, getting the immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and baby will soon perfect the blink -- perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes.  Average size: 13.6 to 14.8 in; 1.5 to 2.2 lbs

New Addition:

Amanda and Kurtis recently adopted a new puppy.  It's a miniture poodle named Toby.  He won't grow very big; max height 10 inches and max weight 7 pounds.  Good luck with the potty training!

Mom Update 6/3

I've been letting my sister Lori post most of the mom updates lately.  You can find them on her blog, Life is Golden.

I went up to see mom over lunch.  She’s looking a ton more alert and awake.  She was dozing when I got there but when she heard me talking to dad her eyes got real wide (“Oh! I have a visitor!”).  I gave her a Pound Puppy I bought at Dillons and she held onto if for a bit and then asked me to put it on the shelf for her.  (She remembered giving us girls pound puppies and purries when we were little.)

Her chest is hurting today – more so because of all the work her lungs have been doing.  The doctor asked if she wanted morphine for the pain.  Dad asked if that would interfere with her flow-by test (which the doctor said they wouldn’t be able to do the test) and mom said she didn’t want the morphine.  

Mom did 20 minutes on flow-by.  They disconnected the breathing machine and connected mom to oxygen.  The oxygen tube provides air passing by mom’s trache, but it doesn’t force any air in.  This is more comparable to actual breathing.  They’ll do this test again tonight and with each test will increase the time mom is on.  After she’s able to breathe with flow-by for a longer period of time the doctor will consider capping her trache and do swallow tests to see if she can breathe and eat on her own.

Physical Therapy came by the room this morning.  They are having mom wear blue boots for two hours at a time.  They are hard plastic and (blue) padding that strap onto her feet and hold them in a position similar to what they are would be in when she stands.  They’ll help stretch mom’s calf muscles out so she doesn’t lose muscle tone while she’s confined to the bed.

Mom still can’t find a comfortable resting position.  She’s been shuffling around in her bed quite a bit and can even sit up for a bit unassisted.  More baby steps for mom!